The present invention pertains to a container holder for a vehicle and particularly one which employs a vacuum source for operation.
Container holders for vehicles have become a popular accessory to allow, for example, a driver or passenger of a vehicle to enjoy a cup of coffee or soft drink in relative safety when both hands are needed. The container can be placed in a holder which frees the hands of the user for driving activities when not actually drinking from the container. There have been a variety of container holders which accommodate cans, mugs, Styrofoam cups and other containers for such purpose. Frequently the arms of the container holders are either adjustable or flexible in some manner to accommodate different container shapes. The primary difficulty with holding a variety of containers is that the diameter and/or sidewall taper of the containers can vary greatly from container to container thereby requiring a container holder with somewhat complicated mechanical arms or other structure to accommodate the varying shape of the containers now in common use. The disadvantage of such prior systems is the complexity required which not only increases the cost of the container holders but also increases the possibility of mechanical failure due to the many moving parts common in several container holder designs.
One common parameter for all containers be they cups, cans, mugs or the like is that they all either have a flat bottom or a bottom with a ring which forms a flat ring support for the container when resting on a substantially flat surface. This common design feature in all containers has not, to date, been recognized as one which can be utilized as a design parameter for the design of a uniform cupholder which relies entirely upon this design parameter for its holding mechanism.